[77.05] The Solar Radio Burst Locator (SRBL) Program

The Solar Radio Burst Locator (SRBL) is a new ground-based
instrument used to record the spectra of microwave bursts
and to locate their positions on the solar disk. It was
designed at Caltech by Gordon Hurford and will be deployed
at several sites around the world in time for MAX-2000 as
part of the US Air Force's Solar Electro-Optical Network
(SEON). It employs a single, automated, six-foot dish and a
broad-band receiving element typically observing 105
selectable frequencies from one to 18 GHz every five
seconds. Additional data is taken at 245, 410, and 610 MHz.
The antenna points at Sun center, and off-center burst
locations are determined from the amplitude and phase of
modulation of the frequency-scanned signal. For bursts
greater than 500 sfu, we have obtained positions with an
accuracy of less than 5 arc min and hope to improve this.
The positional information is to be used in space-weather
forecasting, and the spectral data will be a powerful
resource for analysis of burst evolution, electron energy
distribution, and for comparisons with X-ray and particle
observations. Combined with HESSI results, it should yield
information on flare magnetic fields. The database, with
continuous all-weather coverage, will be available on the
Web. We will present data on several events already observed
during prototype testing.

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